Jammu boy on vacation goes swimming in Chenab, swept away to Pak

Last updated Jun 18, 2016

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Jammu, June 18: Summer vacations turned a disaster for 16-year-old Bhanu Pratap and his family when he was swept away by the Chenab at Akhnoor. The body of the boy has not been found so far and it is feared that he might have been swept away to Pakistan.

The Army and BSF authorities at Akhnoor have taken up the matter with the Pakistan Rangers to carry out a search for the boy.

Bhanu Pratap is the son of an Army jawan and had gone to his maternal uncle’s house at Sheetalwala colony in Jammu for summer vacation. Alongwith his elder brother and a cousin he had gone swimming when he was swept away by the strong current.

The police officials, who carried out intensive search operation, said due to the heavy flow the boy is feared to have been swept away to Pakistan, which is 3 km away from the incident site.

According to the area SHO Sukhbir Singh, the police had also searched nearby villages situated along the river banks. “We could not find him or his body and hence have requested the BSF to take up the matter at an appropriate level,” said Singh as reported by The Tribune.

Bhanu’s father Jasbir Singh said since his son knew swimming, there were chances he might be alive.

“The Army and the police are making strenuous efforts to find my son. All I hope is that he should be alive and we should reach him on time,” said the aggrieved father.